UNIT 3 Test Level1
WRITTEN COMPREHENSION
1 Read the posts below. Which post, A, B, C or D, talks about the following? (7 x 2 = 14 points)
1. The real meaning of a commonly used word. .................
2. A food which may have got its name from a joke. .................
3. Being told something that turned out not to be true. .................
4. A word which means different things. .................
5. Cities which gave their name to a type of food. .................
6. Dishes which have different names, but are sometimes all called the same thing. .................
7. The writer’s own ideas about how a food may have reached a country. .................
WE MAY THINK WE KNOW A LOT ABOUT FOOD, BUT SOMETIMES THE TRUE FACTS CAN BE SURPRISING
A CELINE C MARIA
I love pasta, and I was sure that it had been Chips is a very confusing word. In England, chips are
invented in Italy. However, I was told that the thick pieces of fried potato. But, if you ask an
explorer Marco Polo had reached China in the American for chips, or potato chips as they also call
Middle Ages and returned with pasta from there. them, they will think you are talking about a packet of
Recently, I have read that an ancient tomb in crisps. Americans call chips fries, or French fries. In
Tuscany was found with tools which were used to England, they also use the word fries, but only for the
make pasta. So, pasta existed in Italy long before thinner chips that you get with burgers. Even though
Marco Polo was born. I’ve also found out that the they are called French fries, no one knows whether
Chinese have been eating noodles for around they were invented in France or neighbouring
7,000 years, so perhaps it came to Italy from there. Belgium. Some people think that American soldiers
ate them in Belgium in the First World War and,
B LIAM because it was a French-speaking part of Belgium,
Hot dogs are very American. But how did they get they called them French fries.
their unusual name? Sausages have been around
D DANIEL
since ancient Greek times, but the frankfurter, a
thinner kind of sausage, was first produced in the I love spicy food, so I’m a big fan of curry. I know that
19th century in Frankfurt, Germany. Around the India was a part of the British Empire, which is when
same time, a similar sausage appeared in Vienna, British people first became aware of curry. But I didn’t
or Wien, the capital of Austria, and these were realise that, if you suggested going for a curry to an
called wieners. At some point, they were named Indian in India, they wouldn’t understand you. The
dachshunds, after the dog which has short legs Indian word kari can be translated as meaning a
and a long body. When German immigrants went meaty sauce. However, the British started using it to
to the USA, they took these dachshunds there too. talk about all Indian food. In India, you eat dishes with
There is a story that in the early 20th century, a names like chicken tikka, biryani and jalfrezi. Anyone
cartoonist drew a picture of a dachshund in a bun who goes to an Indian restaurant in England will
with the caption: “Hot Dog”. Whether or not it is recognise these different names, but we still say
true, the word has been around for well over 100 we’re going out for a curry instead of Indian food.
years.
1
UNIT 3 Test Level 1
2 Choose the correct answer. (4 x 2 = 8 points)
1. What can we say about Marco Polo?
a. It’s impossible that he took pasta to Italy.
b. He might have taken pasta to Italy, but it wasn’t something new.
c. He may have introduced pasta to China.
d. A discovery in Tuscany has proved that the stories about him are true.
2. A food was first compared to a dog in … .
a. Ancient Greece
b. Germany
c. Austria
d. USA
3. Which word is used in both the USA and Britain with the same meaning?
a. chips
b. crisps
c. fries
d. potato chips
4. Why wouldn’t Indians say: “I’m going for a curry”?
a. The word “curry” doesn’t exist there.
b. The word refers to meat.
c. “Curry” was a word made up by the British.
d. Each Indian dish has its own name.
3 Find words or expressions in the text that mean: (4 x 2 = 8 points)
1. discovered (Text A) ...............................................................................
2. about (Text A) ...............................................................................
3. heading, title (Text B) ...............................................................................
4. sharing a border with (Text C) ...............................................................................
5. learnt about (Text D) ...............................................................................
